Ashiqur, bowlers help Bangladesh crush UAE to clinch their first Asia Cup title

Ashiqur Rahman Shibli has smashed a century to propel Bangladesh to their maiden U19 Asia Cup trophy with a resounding 195-run victory over the United Arab Emirates.

A magnificent display with the ball helped the young Tigers bundle the UAE out for a meagre 87 in 24.5 overs against 282 for 8 by the unbeaten champions at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Maruf Mridha sent back openers Aryansh Sharma (9 off 17) and Akshat Rai (11 off 22) in the fifth and seventh over to unsettle the hosts early in the chase.

Dhruv Parashar (25* off 40) was the only other UAE batsman to reach the double digit as Rohanat Doullah Borson, Iqbal Hossain Emon and Sheikh Parvez Jibon continued to shatter the UAE lineup.

Maruf and Rohanat picked three wickets each while Iqbal and Sheikh got two apiece.

After the hosts won the toss and sent Bangladesh to bat first, opener Ashiqur (129 off 149) smashed 12 fours and one six to secure his second century in the tournament.

Chowdhury Md Rizwan and Ariful Islam took the 2019 runners-up to the challenging score with fifties.

Ashiqur, who also scored two fifties in the tournament, was adjudged Player of the Match and Series.